Familiäre Netzwerke und Lebenszufriedenheit alter Menschen in ländlichen und urbanen Regionen

Using data from the German Socio-economic Panel (GSOEP) from 1996, we examined whether the size of elders’ family networks differs between rural and urban regions of Germany, and whether the size of the family network gives rural elders an advantage in terms of well-being. We analyzed the association between certain aspects of the family network (size, closeness of relationships, proximity of relatives), feelings of loneliness, sorrow and life-satisfaction in a structural equation model. Results revealed that rural elders do live in larger family networks compared to urban elders. The elders in rural areas had more family relations and felt closer to them; it was especially the latter aspect which had a positive effect on the subjective well-being of older persons. This effect was larger in the western part compared to the eastern part of Germany.